Finding The Right Path Together
by Dreamshipper71
Summary: My story starts for Sue and Sean at mile marker 16. I felt the conversation was way too short after the years of anticipation.I am loving seeing all the new Sean and Sue stories. I've been busy but meant to start posting right after the finale. Please review as I am new to writing on fanfiction. I don't own the Middle or any of the characters.
1. Chapter 1

Standing on the side of the road, Sean held Sue in his arms and gave her a long goodbye kiss. Axl said " Oh gross! Dude, that's my sister!" Mike said "Come on guys, Let's get back in the car. We can give Sue and Sean a minute to say goodbye. Frankie, put the phone down and stop recording now." "Sue! Sean! You guys have one minute. We have to get back on the road and Sean has a plane to catch!" Sean replied " Thanks, Mr. Heck!"

Sean kissed Sue deeply and longingly. He stopped kissing her long enough to whisper in her ear. "We have the worst timing! I promise I am going to text, call or email every chance I get. I'm not sure how good the cell or Internet service will be. When I get back, I promise I will make it up to you. Suzy Q, will you give me the honor of going out with me on our first date when I get back?" Sue turned her head and kissed him on the cheek. She said "Is this really happening?" Sean turned his head and kissed her on the lips. Sue answered him " I can't wait." Sue initiated another kiss and just as it was getting intense, they heard Mike honk the car horn. Mike yelled "Sorry guys. It's time to go!"

Sean reluctantly agreed. So they broke away from the hug and held hands and said their goodbyes. Sue said" I'm going to miss you Soo much!" Sean replied " I will miss you too. I promise, I will make it worth the wait. I love you, Suzy Q". Sue said " I love you Soo much right now" as she squeezed his hand one last time before turning away to go back to the car.

Sue got back in the car and was on cloud nine. She pinched herself because she felt like she was dreaming. Sean really had just chased them down and proclaimed his love for her. She sat in a dreamlike state for a little while just thinking about everything that happened on the side of the road. She really wanted to use her phone to talk to Sean again before he caught his plane and she really wanted to text Brad again and tell Lexie what had happened. However, they had to turn off their phones because they had almost exceeded the data plan limits and they didn't want to pay the overage costs. That's when Sue had a brilliant idea.

Sue said "Dad, I will pay for the overage of the data from my first paycheck from Sudsy's this summer. I don't know how often I will get to talk to, text or if Sean will even get to read emails all summer." Axl said "Oh my God, Sue! I will pay for the overage. Maybe if you are talking to Sean or someone else, I won't have to hear how much you LOVE my best friend the rest of the way to Denver. It's bad enough that you two are now dating, doesn't mean I want to hear about it..Ugh!"

Mike looked over at Frankie and winked. He said "Guys, Don't worry. I am going to pay for the overages with one condition, Sue." "Oh dad, Really? I'll do anything.. I just have so much to say to Sean before he leaves." Mike said "you remind Sean that no matter how long I have known him, that I will be watching how he treats you. He had better treat my daughter with respect." Sue was surprised her dad would even think that Sean would hurt her. "Dad, It's Sean. He is a Donahue! We have known him forever!" Mike said "I am aware. But to me, he is a 23 year old young man who is attracted to my daughter and he needs to treat you with respect. He better not rush you into anything or I'll kill him." Axl mumbled "Not before I do." Frankie was laughing softly. She said " Nancy loved my video. She said she can't wait for us to get home so she can talk to Sue. She is very excited". Sue said "Mom! You really took a video?" Frankie said " Don't worry Sue, I will send it to you. I'm sure Brad and Lexie will want to see it too." "Okay, dad, I am sure he already knows all that but I will tell him. Thank you so much!"

Sue turned on her phone. She had several texts and one video message from her mom. She opened the video first. She would watch this video a thousand times this summer waiting to see Sean again.

Then she saw Sean's texts. The first text said: Suzy Q, I made it back to the airport safely. Luckily, I found a later flight today. I have a little wait so I think I will send you an email. I am thrilled we finally talked. I just wish I hadn't wasted all those chances to tell you how I feel sooner. Knowing that you love me too makes me the happiest and luckiest guy I know.

The second text from Sean said: I forgot to tell you that I meant every word I said. I really believe we are soulmates and that will help us get through this summer. I just know that WE are worth the wait. Love you!

Sue was beaming. She forwarded the video from her mom to Sean. Then she sent him a text. "Sean, I miss you already. I had already decided to stay as busy as I could this summer so that I won't focus on you being gone. At least now I can focus on you and I being together when you get back. I am so happy. I love you too!"

Sean replied: "I love the video. I have a feeling that I am going to watch it A LOT this summer. I miss you already. Check your email in a bit. I just paid to have Wi-Fi on the plane to Ghana. "

The next text was from Lexie: OMG, Axl just told me that Sean chased you down to tell you he loved you. How romantic! I need details. Axl didn't seem to want to say more than that. I am so glad you guys worked it out. You guys have the worst timing though.. maybe it will get better from here on. Finger's crossed.

The next text was from Brad: I always knew he liked you too! Your mom sent me the video. Love it! I'm thinking Sue Sue Donahue sounds really catchy. Don't you? LOL

Sue smiled. She knew this summer was going to feel like forever but at least now she knew that Sean and her were a couple. She could look forward to their first date. She could already feel his love and she could now openly express hers. Even with him going to be thousands of miles away, she couldn't help but feel lucky. She couldn't believe it, she was actually dating Sean Donahue!

Sean was finally on his long flight to Ghana. Sue had sent him Frankie's video of them on the side of the road. And Frankie had sent the video to his Mom. Of course, Nancy had emailed him immediately:

Sean, I just got a video of you and Sue. I am so happy for you! I should have known that you liked her. I mean, the first time and only time you yelled at me was after you showed up to take Sue to her senior prom after I told you she didn't have a date . Then, by the time you drove 6 hours and rented a tux, she had already found a date. I remember our talk about communication. You were quite upset. Maybe that's why I never told you that Sue showed up all dressed up the night of the Chancellor's Ball looking for you. When I told her you had gone back to Note Dame, she said she was probably chasing something that wasn't even a thing. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to be upset if I was wrong again. I thought she may have liked you then. I am just glad you guys finally worked it out. I just love Sue, she is a wonderful young woman. Just let me know if you need anything while you are gone. I hope you don't mind if I hang out a little more with Sue this summer. I have a feeling we will see even more of her after you come home.

Love, Mom

Sean's response:

Mom,

I haven't been this happy in a long time. Yes, I think we all need to work on communication. Sue and I have both fought our feelings and had enough misunderstanding for a lifetime. You asked if I needed anything. As a matter of fact, I just went online and ordered another snow globe for Sue. I am shipping it to you because I would like you to deliver it to Sue when they get back from dropping the Ax man off in Denver. I will also have you put a special message on it. My message should be " Suzy Q, You are my special snowflake. When you see this snow globe, please remember our first kiss on Christmas Eve when we were out in the snow. It was the most perfect moment of my life. I'm the luckiest man alive to have you as my special snowflake. Love, Sean". Thanks, Mom. I paid to get Wi-Fi on this flight but I want to email Sue and I need a little nap. I would love for you to get to know Sue more. I do believe she is my soulmate. Well, I better go, I need to study a bit also before I get to the fellowship. I love you and will miss you bunches, Sean

Sean's email to Sue:

Suzy Q,

I already miss you more than I thought possible to miss anyone. I will only be gone for 12 weeks. I plan to be home Friday, August 15th. I know school starts the following week but I would like for us to go out on our first date on Saturday the 16th if that works for you. I already have ideas to make it special. It kills me that I had to leave. This opportunity is once in a lifetime just like our special bond.

I just got a text from Axl by the way. He says that even though he hates it when one of his friends wants to date you, that he is sorry he didn't tell you that I told him I liked you on New Year's. He didn't realize that we both felt that way towards each other and he still claims he thought I was drunk. However, He said of all his friends, he knows I will treat you right. Then he said you had a message to give me from your dad and he backs it up. What does he mean by that?

I know it is going to be hell this summer not being able to see each other. At least it will feel like that to me, but please don't change your mind about loving me.

By the way, I have already ordered you a gift. My mom will bring it over when it arrives. I think you will see her a lot this summer. She saw your mom's video and she was very happy for us!

I have to go for now. I hope to hear your sweet voice soon.

I love you very much!

Love,

Your Sean

She fought back tears when she read his email. He was right. He was always right. He knew her so well. The only thing he was wrong about was thinking for a second she would change her mind about loving him. Looking back, when she developed a crush on him in junior high, it never really ended. She told herself it had, but if you put all of her exes attributes together, you would find each of them were like Sean in one way or another. Sue stopped fighting the tears so she could reply before his flight was over.

Sean,

You are right. This will be the longest summer ever. And it will be rough. As long as I can remember, we always saw each other all summer. You said you didn't know when you started feeling this way and I think back and neither do I. I remember realizing that I had a crush on you when I was in Junior High. I even thought for a second it could be mutual. But the timing didn't seem right so I moved on. The timing has never been our friend, has it? Until today, that is. Today our timing has begun. I am calling this the year of Sean and Sue!

Whenever I start to miss you, I will watch the video my mom took. How embarrassing that she recorded us kissing, but I will cherish it until I get the opportunity to kiss you again. Thank you for being my soulmate and not leaving for Ghana without telling me how you felt. You made my year!

Axl is teasing me relentlessly about you and me. He says that I am trying to gross him out by dating his best friend. I told him that he is dating mine and I had to get over it. He says that is different. I guess we will have to show him. I told him that since he is moving to Denver, it's not like we would be rubbing his nose in our relationship anyways. Oh Sean.. Axl and you will both be so far away. At least you will be back soon. I will miss you like crazy.

Oh.. and I promised my dad I would tell you that he said he is watching you and you have to treat me with respect. Maybe that was what Axl meant.

I love you SOO much back!

Love,

Your Special Snowflake Sue


	2. Chapter 2

Sean had almost fallen asleep on the plane when he saw Sue's email. He could almost hear sadness in Sue's voice. Both he and Axl were leaving her at the same time. If this wasn't a once in a lifetime opportunity, he would rush home and spend the summer making her happy. She deserves to be happy. He wrote back to Sue.

My darling Suzy Q,

Our timing is the worst! I wish I could have stayed there with you this summer. Who would have thought that both me and the Ax man would leave on the same day? I know we are going to miss each other like crazy, but I have an idea that could help. I asked you about our first date when I get back, but I have one more thing I need to ask you. Would you like to wear my Note Dame class ring? I bet, my mom could even find you one or two of my college T-shirts to wear when you miss me. You can choose from Notre Dame or St. Matthew's or one of each. It is up to you. Plus, I'm sure my Mom would be happy to have you come over and look through the old picture albums anytime you start to miss me. Don't worry about me, I have the sweetest video of us to watch when I miss you. And I was able to salvage the note you had put on the snow globe. It's getting late and since I am on a later flight, I will have to drop off my things at the bunkhouse and have about 2 hours before I have to be at the fellowship after I land. So, I am going to take a little nap now. I don't know when I will be able to email or call again but please email me when you can. I will be looking forward to them.

I love you and miss you already,

Yours truly,

Sean

Sean decided to email his mom real quick.

Mom,

Please look out for Sue this summer. She's just the happiest person I know besides you and I just realized how hard it may be for her with Axl moving to Denver at the same time I had to go to Ghana. Maybe you could do a few more things for me before I get off this plane and get super busy? I have a few things for you to give Sue when she gets back from Denver. Please take my ND class ring to her along with a couple of my shirts. I want her to have a little piece of me to hang on to while I'm gone. Anyways, I need to sleep a bit before I get to Ghana.

Thank you Mom for everything,

I miss you already,

Love, Sean

Mike had paid for a couple of GB overage before he said they needed to shut off their devices again. Sue was fine with that. She had gotten to say what she wanted to before then. When they got to the hotel in Denver, she finally read Sean's email.

Sue's response :

Sean,

You really are the best. I am still in shock. I have seen things like this happen in the movies but never thought anything like this day would ever happen to me. I would absolutely love to wear your ring and your shirts! We have arrived at the hotel in Denver and I'm getting ready for bed. I'm sure I will dream of you, of us, tonight. I am already counting down the days till I see you again. Oh and I am Soo going over to look at pictures with your Mom. You have the best ideas!

I love you Soo much,

Your Suzy Q

Sean arrived in Ghana around 5 am GMT. Before he landed, he was able to check his email. All Sean had wanted to do on the flight was keep emailing his wonderful girlfriend. He still couldn't believe that he had finally found the courage to tell Sue how he felt. He was over the moon that she felt the same. However, he had to make himself take a nap because of the long day ahead of him. He only had time for a short reply before he had to turn off his devices.

Suzy Q,

I have already made arrangements for my mom to bring you those things when you get back to Orson. I am about to land safely in Ghana. They about to kick us off Wi-Fi. I will reach out to you as soon as possible. Sweet dreams, my sweetheart, until I hold you in my arms again.

Missing you already,

Your Soulmate Sean

Sue almost cried when she read Sean's email. Frankie saw the tears welling up. "Sue, what's wrong? I thought you were happy now." " I am, Mom. Sean asked me to wear his ring and I said yes. He is also having Mrs. Donahue bring me a couple of Sean's shirts for me to wear. He is just the sweetest! I'm fighting the happy tears because I never imagined that I could be this happy. Especially since we are dropping Axl off here in Denver. I think I am overwhelmed." Frankie understood what Sue meant. Things had changed a lot in the last few days. Frankie was happy for her daughter and the boy next door. She couldn't have picked a better young man for Sue. Frankie hugged Sue and told her " Aww.. Sue he is going to be the sweetest boyfriend. I have always thought he would be. Well, not that I really thought about it. But when you told me you liked him, I just knew he would be for you. Look, a couple days ago, your dad was getting you off the couch because you were so sad and now you are very happy. Sean will be home before you know it. And until then, we will be there for each other. Besides, I have a feeling that we will be seeing a lot more of the Donahue's this summer now." Sue knew that her mom was right. " Thanks, Mom, you are the best." Sue fell asleep thinking about her day and everything her and Sean had discussed. She did have some sweet dreams.

After prying Frankie away from Axl, the rest of the Heck's made their way back to Orson. True to her nature, Nancy Donahue came over shortly after with a few things for Sue. Sue read the note on the snow globe and almost cried. Sean had only been gone for 4 days. She had 80 more days to go until she saw him again. Sue decided to put on one of Sean's blue Notre Dame shirts. She had tried to wear the ring but it was a tad too big so she decided to take the pendant off of her necklace that her Uncle had given her and put the ring on the chain. She wanted to wear Sean's ring close to her heart.

She didn't work today. She was scheduled to start her shifts at Spudsy's tomorrow evening and would shadow at the Orson Inn during the mornings starting next week. She was going to be busy soon but today she was bored. Frankie said " Sue, I'm running to the Frugal Hoosier if you want to come along." Sue thought she might as well get out of the house.

Frankie and Sue were walking through the grocery store. Frankie took a can of green beans off the shelf and dented the can on the cart. " That should save us another 5 cents!" " Mom, Don't do that!". That was when Sue heard an old but familiar voice. " Hey, Sue and Mrs. Heck, I haven't seen you guys in forever." Sue turned around " Hey, Darrin, how are you?" Darrin's smile changed to a look of confusion. " Sue, I didn't know you went to Notre Dame. I thought you went to East Indy. Wait, the only person I know that went to Notre Dame is Sean. Did he buy you a shirt?" Frankie's eyes were wide open in surprise. Sue was fidgeting awkwardly when she decided to tell him the truth. It had been a couple years since she had even seen Darrin and last she knew he had a girlfriend. By now, he was probably married anyways. " Hey there Darrin, how have you been?" Without realizing it, Sue grabbed Sean's ring on her necklace. Darrin noticed the ring then. He said " Well, I guess you and Sean are dating now? That ring is his, isn't it?" Sue thought this would be more awkward. Sue replied " Actually, we are dating now. This really wasn't exactly how I would have told you though." Darrin replied "Sue, I was just getting ready to tell you that I am engaged and we are about to move back here to Orson. I am a little surprised about you guys, but if you and I weren't meant to be, then I am glad you are with a good guy like Sean. You deserve a nice guy like him. I heard he went away for the summer. We should hang out when he gets back." Sue said "That sounds great." Frankie felt this was the right time to say " Sorry to interrupt, but we have to go now." Darrin said " Sure, Mrs. Heck, it was good to see you both." Sue gave Darrin a hug and said " I am really happy for you." And he replied "I am happy for you too." Then he turned to leave. Sue thought he looked a little remorseful.

Sue had cared for Darrin a lot when she was younger. She remembered how she almost married him when she was 17. To be fair, he had been 20 and was ready to settle down. Sue was not. She knew she had a lot of living to do. She would always care for Darrin but he definitely never made her feel the way that Sean does.

Sue and Frankie got home from the store and Sue went to her room immediately to email Sean and tell him about her encounter with her ex. She thought he might want to email his old friend to congratulate him on his engagement. And he might like to know that Darrin knew they were a couple now. Frankie came into Sue's room. " Are you okay? I know that had to be hard." Sue replied "Actually, I am glad he knows. He was my first serious boyfriend but Sean has always been my soulmate. It just took us a while to figure it out." Frankie smiled the biggest smile and said " I am so glad you are happy". She hugged Sue tight.

Sue sent the email to Sean knowing that he may not get it until the next day. Sean didn't have internet at his bunkhouse but he did go to an internet café about every other day to email Sue and his family. He could still send texts but his time was limited and the time difference made it hard to call or text at a good time. Sue was really proud of him, and wanted to be supportive, but a little tiny piece of her wished he hadn't gotten the fellowship so he would be home with her this summer. Sue's email to Sean:

Hey, my handsome boyfriend,

Man, it sounds soo good to say that. I hope your week is going good. I got all of your gifts from your mom. I am wearing one of your ND shirts right now and your ring is on my necklace. I love the new snow globe! Thank you for thinking of ways to make me happy even from thousands of miles away. You're really great!

Oh guess who I ran into today? My mom and I ran into Darrin at the Frugal Hoosier. He saw me wearing your shirt and ring. He says he is happy for us. He is engaged and they are about to move back to Orson. He said when you get back, we should all get together. I didn't know what to say, so I told him that would be great. We don't have to if you don't want to. I'm totally okay with it if you are though. I would never want you guys to be uncomfortable because of me. We can even plan it when Axl and Lexie can come too if you want. I think he will be home for Labor Day weekend. Well, I need to go and get ready to start work tomorrow.

Love you Soo much!

I really, really do!

Yours and only your snowflake,

Sue

Sean received the email the next day and was a little bothered by it for a minute. That was definitely not how he would have wanted his old friend to find out about his relationship with Sue. He remembered when Darrin had called him a few years ago and asked him to be a groomsman when he had proposed to Sue. He couldn't forget how jealous he felt. He thought it was because Darrin had found love. But now he realized it was because he knew deep inside that he loved Sue. He decided to email his old friend.

Darrin, my old pal,

How have you been? I hear congratulations are in order. I am very happy you found love. Sue told me that she ran into you. Dude, I promise you I was going to tell you about Sue and I. It just happened so fast. I didn't think she liked me back until the day I was leaving for Ghana. I have been super busy since I got here or I would have called you. I know you have moved on but I never would have broke the bro code if I didn't love her. I hope you understand truly. If you meant it about hanging out when I get back, I will call you to set something up after I get home.

Well, I hate to make this short, but I have to go now.

Talk to you soon!

Your bro,

Sean


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a long and bittersweet summer. Sue stayed busy working as much as she could. Sue even made copies of some pictures of her and Sean through the years and had started putting together a photo album to start the year of Sean and Sue. She couldn't wait to take more pictures of them as a couple to fill it with. Her summer job at Spudsy's had come to an end. She was about to start packing to move back into her and Lexie's apartment. Sue and Sean had talked, texted and emailed as often as they could. Even though they had known each other their whole lives, they had always had their guards up with each other. However, Sue felt like the last few months, they had really gotten closer and developed an intimacy like no other. She had never felt this close to anyone. She had known Sean would be busy and that communication wouldn't be easy so when they did communicate, they had deep and meaningful conversations. They discussed everything from their daily activities to all of the times they came close to admitting their feelings and didn't. They talked about the fellowship, the upcoming year, their goals, their relationship and everything in between. She felt like they were a devoted couple now. It felt like they had been together for a lot longer than it had actually been.

Mrs. Donahue had checked on her even more than before. Matter of fact, she heard from her daily. Sean was due home in a few days. She longed to see his beautiful smile. She had known she would miss him, but now she ached to see him, to hug his neck, to kiss his face and too just be near him again. She kept telling herself, it wouldn't be long now. Sean was coming home in two days. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be back until Friday evening and Mrs. Donahue was throwing a huge Welcome Home Block party on Friday as soon as he got home. As much as Sue loved a Donahue block party, she was a little sad that she would have to share Sean with all of his friends and family his first night back. Of course, she was just happy she would be by his side, finally! This 11 ½ weeks felt like a year to her. Sean had asked her out on their first date on Saturday so she would have him to herself that evening. She couldn't wait! Sue decided to start packing while she was trying to figure out 2 outfits for the weekend. Sue's phone buzzed.

It was a text from Sean. "Suzy Q, not long now.. I can't wait to hold you in my arms and show you how much I love you. My mom mentioned asking you to go to Indy to shop. She said you may want a new outfit for Saturday. I think she is almost as excited as I am about our first date. Please consider going with her. I think hanging out with you really helps her not miss me as much. Don't stress about finding anything. I'm sure you will be beautiful no matter what you wear."

Sue replied " I really can't wait. I don't think anyone could be more excited than me about our first date. I miss you so much.. only two more days.. I love you!" Sue returned to her closet. She didn't like anything she had in the closet for Sean's homecoming weekend. She wanted to look more sophisticated next time she saw Sean. Maybe going shopping would help her feel better too. Sue's phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and it was Mrs. Donahue. Well,she had been told to call her Nancy, but she was still adjusting to that. " Hey, Mrs.. I mean Nancy, how are you today?" Nancy replied " Hello there sweetie, I'm doing great. Not too much longer till we see our boy. I was wondering if you had any plans today." Sue replied " Not really, I am starting to pack since we are moving back into our apartment on Sunday and I am trying to figure out what to wear on Sean and I's first official date on Saturday. Why, what's up?" Nancy said " Well, I could use a little help picking up a few more things for the party. I have to run to Indy and wondered if you would mind coming along. I thought maybe we could go to the mall and we could maybe find something to wear for the party. We can make a day of it. Please say you will come along!" Sue thought this was a good plan. " That sounds lovely. What time?" " Let's leave in an hour. Will that work for you?" "Sure, Nancy, I will be over in an hour." Sue stopped obsessing over her wardrobe and started getting ready for her outing with Sean's mom.

At first, Sue wasn't sure if she felt like a day of shopping but Sean had said he thought it made his mom feel better and Sue loved his whole family. In truth, spending time with them made her miss Sean just a little less. Sue told Frankie about her plans with Nancy. Frankie said "Ohh.. that sounds like a fabulous idea. I think it will be fun. Maybe you should wear that pretty lip gloss we bought the other day and do your hair and makeup so you know what the outfits will look like when you have your big date on Saturday" "Mom, that's a great idea! Then I can send pictures to you, Lexie, and Brad so you guys can help me find the perfect outfit." "Frankie said " Perfect! I think a day of shopping with Nancy will help you feel like it no time at all until Sean comes home too."

Nancy Donahue and Sue had went to a few party stores and got the last of the supplies that Nancy had wanted to get for the party. Then they went to the mall. They went to what seemed like every store in the mall. Nancy found an outfit she really liked for the party. Sue found 2 pretty dresses that got the approval from everyone. Nancy kept checking her phone. Sue said " I have everything I need if you want to leave." "Oh no, Sue, Ron decided to have a Daddy/Daughter Date night with the girls tonight so I am on my own." Sue said " I'm sorry to hear that." Nancy said " Oh, it's fine. He wanted to do something with them before Sean comes home. So.. what do you say we make this a girl's night out?" "Umm sure, I guess I can pack tomorrow. What do you want to do?" Nancy got excited and said "There is this really nice restaurant here in Indy that I have been wanting to go to for a long time. Ohh.. but we should probably find a place to change first." Sue suggested stopping at a gas station. Nancy said "Oh heavens no! We need a nice place to change. I know! Are you able to make this an overnight girl's night? If so, I have a free room at the Franklin hotel from the reward points from my credit card company. If we use that, we can get dressed up the right way and go have a couple of drinks after dinner if we want and taxi back to the hotel. Ohh.. please say we can have a real bonding girl's trip". Sue kinda wanted to go home but a night out and maybe just a couple of drinks with Sean's mom could help her and Nancy feel better. " That actually sounds nice. Let's do it."

They walked into the hotel lobby and Sue was entranced. She was soaking in every detail. This was not the kind of hotel her family stayed in but she definitely wanted to work in an environment like this. Nancy checked them in and got them a 2 bedroom suite. She said the reservation at the restaurant was at 8 o'clock. They each had their own bathroom to get ready in. Luckily, Sue had brought some makeup and lip gloss with her for the dressing room photo shoot earlier. Sue was going to wear the dress she bought for her first date with Sean on Saturday. Nancy somehow had a curling iron in her car and she let Sue borrow it. Leave it to Nancy to always be prepared for anything.

"Sue, darling, Are you almost ready? We need to leave soon to make our reservation." Sue was a little nervous. As nice as this hotel was, she could only imagine how nice the restaurant was that Nancy was taking her to. Sue stepped out into the living area and asked Nancy " Does this look nice enough for where we are going?" Nancy said "Wow, Don't you look beautiful? This is perfect. Sean is going to love seeing you in this when he gets back." Sue blushed. Sue hoped that Sean would REALLY like this outfit. She wanted Sean to think of her as much more than the girl from across the street or Axl's little sister. I mean they had been dating but hadn't seen each other since he chased her down on that highway before he left for Ghana. She wanted to see his eyes light up with the kind of longing that a man in love has in his eyes for the woman he loves. She had seen that in his eyes on Christmas Eve, but had been too insecure to trust it. She wanted to see it again. She started thinking about their first kiss on Christmas Eve and how wonderful it was. Hopefully Saturday, she would have the same feelings. Her last kisses with Sean were wonderful but they were in front of her family. She couldn't wait to have some alone time with her handsome boyfriend. On Saturday, she would get that luxury. That thought made her smile. "Sue, where did you go? You looked very deep in thought. We're you thinking of Sean again? Are you ready to go?" "Sorry, Nancy, I was just hoping that Sean likes this dress as much as I do." Sue blushed slightly thinking of being alone with Sean. Nancy said "Oh I am sure he will. You have nothing to worry about." They left the hotel for the short drive to the restaurant that Nancy was so excited to try out.

They pulled up to the restaurant and Sue started feeling nervous again. Nancy's phone buzzed again, she got yet another text. Sue started looking at the restaurant. This place was way more fancy than her family had ever gone to. "Nancy, Are you sure about this? I don't know if I can afford this place." Nancy replied "Relax.. you will be fine. You are not paying and tonight we are here to have fun." Sue said" Okay, Let's go have some fun." They walked into the restaurant and Nancy said " Reservation for Ron Donahue, please." Sue thought it was sweet that she put the reservation under her husband's name. Then she saw something she didn't expect. They were walking towards a table with 6 chairs. Wait, was that Mr. Donahue? Why would he be here? And next to him was Shelly and Dottie. What was going on? Sue said with surprise in her voice " Mr. Don.. I mean, Ron, girls, what are you guys doing here?" Ron opened his mouth to speak when a familiar voice said "Hello, my beautiful Suzy Q, you look amazing!" Sue turned around shocked. She couldn't believe her ears. She had to see him with her own eyes to believe she heard what she thought she heard. Surely, she had imagined his voice. She turned around and Sue let out a squeal and ran into Sean's arms. They kissed for what seemed like a second before Mr. Donahue cleared his throat. Sue spoke first " Sean! Oh my God, what are you doing here?" I thought you weren't coming home until Friday. Sean said "Sue, let's sit down and I will explain."

Sue realized that she had spoken very loudly and there were a couple people staring. Sean pulled out Sue's chair for her. As she sat down, she pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming . Sean hugged his Mom and thanked her for helping him out. Sue was still in shock. Sean was home!

Once they sat down, Sean sat next to her holding her hand. She looked at Sean and said "I am so confused. Your mom and I have a Suite at the Franklin for the night and we were supposed to.." Sean interrupted and said "Suzy Q, the Suite is ours for the night. I got two bedrooms because I didn't want you to think I expected anything more than just spending some time together alone before I go back to Orson and then St. Matthew's and we get busy. I wanted to see my family too so I worked with my parents to arrange this wonderful evening. Dad and the girls drove my car here and Mom is taking them back to Orson tonight in her car. After dinner, I figured we could go out for a bit then go back to the hotel and just spend some time together. If you are comfortable with the arrangements, we can stay here until Friday morning and we can hang out all day tomorrow doing anything you want to do. We just have to be back in time for the Welcome Home party. Will that work for you?"

Sue had been smiling from ear to ear. This was a dream come true. She had wanted to be alone with Sean for 3 months now. She missed him more and more every day. She looked around the table and all of the Donahue's we're looking at her anxiously. Sue replied "That works for me! But are you sure you don't want to hang out with your family tomorrow? Oh.. and what will my mom and dad think?"

Nancy spoke up " Don't worry, Sue. Your parents know what is going on. Your dad made me take pictures of the Suite to prove there were two bedrooms and he already called Sean to remind him that you will not be rushed into any decisions you may or may not be ready for. Basically, you may want to call Mike and tell him you are not being held here under duress." Sue laughed then her face changed and she said " Please excuse me while I call my dad."

Ron and Nancy looked at each other and winked. They knew their son was an adult and had made a choice a long time ago to wait until the time was right to be intimate with a woman. They would like to think he would wait for marriage, but that was rare these days. They took comfort in knowing that Sean would never make that decision lightly and neither would Sue.

As dinner came to an end, the Donahue's hugged Sean and Sue goodbye and told them to be safe and be home by 5 on Friday. Nancy also told Sue that she would find an overnight bag in Sean's car with all of her amenities and even her pajamas that Frankie had packed for her. Sue was impressed and at the same time ecstatic that her family and Sean's family went out of their way to arrange this surprise for her. Even her dad had been supportive when she called him earlier to let him know that she was not being held captive by the Donahue's. He knew Sean was home and how happy Sue was. He just wanted Sue to be happy and safe. Sean got done saying goodbye to his family then came back to Sue, grabbed her hand, and asked "Are you ready to go out with me?" She answered "More than you know.. I just have one question." What's your question, babe?" Sue replied " Would it be totally inappropriate if we just went back to the hotel this evening, maybe got into some comfy clothes , watched a movie, and just hung out?" Sean said "OH Thank God! Yes, all I want to do is spend some time with you without either of our families watching. I hoped that was what you wanted to do." They went back to the hotel. As they walked to the door, Sean was carrying the overnight bag her mom had sent, Sue started getting nervous again. When Sean opened the door to the suite, there was a bottle of champagne chilling next to a dozen red roses on the table in the parlor. Suddenly the nervous feeling was gone and everything felt perfect. Sean closed the door and put down Sue's bag. Sue said "Its perfect." Sean said "Just like you are, Suzy Q." as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately like he had dreamt of doing for 3 months now.


	4. Chapter 4

Sue pulled away slowly from the kiss. "I just can't believe you're here. Wait.. how are you here? Weren't you supposed to be in Ghana still?" Sean smiled and said " All that matters is that I arranged it. The fellowship ended on Monday but my original flight home wasn't until Thursday. Luckily, there was a cancellation on a flight on Tuesday. But forget about that for now, how about we get in our comfy clothes, open the champagne and then we can talk about everything and anything as long as you want." He reached out for her again this time pulling her into his arms just holding her. He whispered in her ear " I have dreamt of holding you and being with you every night since I left. I just don't know how I would have gotten through this last three months without knowing that you were waiting for me. Suzy Q, I love you even more now than I did before I left." Sue looked into his eyes, and said " I feel the same way. I missed you more than I thought was possible. Please never stop holding me. Well, maybe you can let go while we go change, and maybe when we have class, and when.." Sean just smiled , shook his head then leaned in and kissed her again. He loved it when Sue started rambling because it usually meant she was happy or excited. "Okay, love. Let's change and meet back in here in a few minutes and I'll open up the bubbly. We need to celebrate being together." Sue couldn't stop smiling. " I'll be right back." As she headed to her room.

Sue went and grabbed the overnight bag that Frankie packed for her surprise overnight stay. Sue found her toiletries, her swimsuit, a pair of shorts, and her pajama bottoms. Sue dumped the bag out. Where was her pajama top, or even a T shirt. Her mom was the worst packer ever. She returned to the parlor in the dress she had worn to dinner. Sean was standing there wearing a St. Matthew's T-shirt and sweatpants. He looked incredible no matter what he wore. Sean looked up from opening the bottle of champagne. "Sue, I thought you were going to change." "Oh, Sean, my Mom only packed my pajama pants and a pair of shorts. The good news is I have my swimsuit if we want to go swimming tomorrow, but for now.. I guess I'll just stay in my dress. No worries." Sean walked over to his girlfriend. He said " Why don't you just wear my shirt?" He lifted his shirt over his head and gave it to Sue. She had seen Sean with his shirt off many times when they had gone swimming. However, Sue couldn't help taking a deep breath and admiring her boyfriend's defined chest and abs. Sean smiled and playfully said " Do you like what you see?" as he leaned in and kissed Sue on the forehead. She smiled big and replied " You know I do" as she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up towards Sean and kissed his neck. Sean moaned softly then said " You drive me crazy, Suzy Q". She replied " At least we'll be crazy together because you do the same to me." Sue stepped backwards and said " I'll be right back".

Sue went to her room to change into Sean's shirt and her pajama pants. The shirt smelled like Sean. She couldn't help but smile just thinking how she would be able to see her boyfriend more often now. Sue's phone beeped. She had a text message from Frankie. " Sue, I just found the tops I was supposed to pack in your bag. Do you need me to bring them to you?" Sue quickly replied " No, mom. I am fine. Sean had an extra T shirt with him for me to sleep in. I bought two dresses today so I have clothes for tomorrow. We are going to hang out tomorrow here so don't expect me home. We will be home before Sean's party on Friday. Oh and I am turning off my phone so we can get caught up with no distractions. Love, Sue". Sue remembered that she and Lexie was supposed to meet for lunch the next day. Sue decided to text Lexie real quick " Lex, I hate to do this but would you mind if we cancel our lunch plans tomorrow. I don't have much time to explain, but Sean surprised me by coming home early and we are staying in Indy together until Friday.. I am soo happy! Don't forget to come to the block party on Friday!" Sue immediately got a text back from Lexie "OMG, How sweet is that? Maybe Sean should give Axl some lessons. I miss him so much. But hey, Have fun and tell me all about it soon!" Sue was about to turn off her phone when she got her mom's response " Okay Sue, Be safe and have a great time! Let's dish when you get home". Sue laughed a little. Frankie was always wanting to talk about her and Sean's relationship. She was truly happy for Sue and it was obvious. Sue turned her phone on silent and left it on the bedside table when she went to rejoin Sean in the parlor.

Sean looked up as Sue entered the room. He still couldn't believe that he was home and with Sue all alone. Sean said " I was starting to wonder if you needed help" as he smiled and winked at his snowflake. Sue said " Sorry, I had a couple of texts to return and I had to let Lexie know that I can't make lunch tomorrow." Sean said " We could go to lunch with her if you want." Sue replied " No, it's all good. I want to hang out with you until Friday and only you. Well, maybe other people depending on what we plan on doing." Sean handed her the glass of champagne and took her hand guiding her to the sofa.

Sean had flipped through the channels while Sue was in her bedroom. He had found an old movie on called Serendipity that was about Destiny and two people finding their way back to each other. Sue saw the movie and said " Oh I remember this movie. My mom used to watch it all the time. I used to wonder about destiny and if everyone had a soulmate. But now, I know they do. I love you, Sean Donahue!" Sean put his arm around Sue and she rested her head on his shoulder to watch the movie. Sue was so comfortable that she fell asleep with Sean holding her.

Sean couldn't stop staring at his girlfriend. He was exhausted from the long day. He didn't want to stop holding Sue but he wanted to be well rested to spend the next day with her. He decided to carry Sue to her bed and tuck her in. He gently placed her on the bed and was moving the covers back to tuck her in when she grabbed him around the neck and softly asked "Please stay with me tonight. I don't want you to leave me yet." Sean said " If you're okay with me staying, then I'm not going anywhere". He crawled into bed next to his sweet Sue. He held her in his arms until they were both asleep.

Sue felt more comfortable than she thought possible when she woke up the next morning. She was curled up with her back against Sean's chest. She could tell by Sean's breathing that he was still asleep. She laid there enjoying his arm wrapped around her. She gently moved to roll on to her back. She wanted to see his face first thing in the morning. Sean pulled her closer to him so she rolled on her side facing him. Sue's hand was gently exploring Sean's chest and stomach. Sean sucked his breath in. He opened his eyes and said "Good morning, sweetheart. Are you trying to drive me crazy, this morning?" He brushed the hair out of her face and leaned in to kiss her. "Sean, I need to brush my teeth!" Sean said " I don't care. Kiss me and then we can brush our teeth and get ready for the day." They laid in bed making out for about ten minutes before Sean said "We can't stay here all day. Let's get dressed. Then we can discuss our plans for today."

Twenty minutes later, they met back in the parlor. Sue was wearing the other cute summery dress she had bought the day she went shopping with Nancy. Sean was taken aback by how pretty Sue looked. " Wow, Suzy Q, you look beautiful!" Sue replied " You look very handsome yourself. So, what do you want to do today?" Sean quickly replied "I thought we might go to the fair today. They have a circus this year along with all of the rides and games. And if we get back early enough, we can go for a swim." Sue squealed in excitement. "Sean, that sounds amazing! Maybe we can ride the Ferris wheel or the Tilt-a- Whirl or the Skyride and we can play games. They have some fun games at the fair. OH maybe my boyfriend can win me a teddy bear, or a dolphin. OH, can we get a turkey leg maybe a deep fried Twinkie?" Sue was rambling again and Sean was thrilled.

After a fun filled day at the fair and the circus, Sean and Sue were stuffed on fair food. They had been in their own little world, riding rides, playing games and just hanging out together. Sean had even bought them matching T-shirts. They finally decided to head back to the hotel. Their feet were tired and the hotel had a hot tub next to the pool. They decided to go relax there for a while and swim a bit to work off some of calories they had consumed. They walked back into the hotel suite and Sue put her new stuffed dolphin and teddy bear on her bed. Sue hadn't checked her phone all day. Sure enough, she had missed texts from Frankie, Mike and Lexie.

Frankie said " Hope you're having fun. Can't wait to hear all about it!"

Mike said " You make sure Sean knows I'm watching him. You still having fun? I'll come get you if you want to come home."

Lexie said " I'm so excited for you. Can't wait to talk to you in person"

Sue sent a group text saying "Having a blast. Went to Fair today. About to go for a swim. I'll see everyone tomorrow at Sean's party!" Sue hoped that would be sufficient to have more alone time without being bothered.

Meanwhile, Sean checked his phone while in his room getting changed into his swimming trunks. He had missed texts from his mom and Axl.

Nancy's text said " I hope you are having fun. Don't forget to be home by 5 tomorrow. Love you!"

Axl's text said " Dude, you had to come home early and surprise my sister, didn't you? And what's this about a hotel room? Look, we will discuss that soon enough, but now Thanks to you, I have to figure out how to surprise Lexie. Not cool, man. You're making me look bad.. anyway, glad you're home safe."

Sean replied to his mom first " Thanks for everything, Mom! We are having a great time. See you tomorrow. Love you too!"

Sean's reply to Axl said " Ax man, I LOVE your sister and would never hurt her or rush her into anything and you know it! And yes, I missed her tremendously so I surprised her by coming back a little early. If you need help surprising your girlfriend, let me know."

Sean walked back into the parlor and Sue was sitting on the couch watching TV. "Sorry for the hold up, Suzy Q, I missed a couple of texts" Sue replied "yeah so did I. I'm leaving my phone on silent next to my bed for the night. Wanna do the same and take your girlfriend swimming?" Sean's face lit up. "Let's go!"

Sean and Sue went to the swimming pool and alternated swimming and sitting in the hot tub for about an hour before returning to the suite. Sue suggested " After we take our showers and freshen up, you wanna come over to my room, prop up some pillows, and cuddle while we find something to watch? You can stay the night again if you like." Sean couldn't help but cup Sue's face in his hands and kiss her lips. "My darling, That sounds like the end of a perfect day and evening to me. I have never slept as well as I did with you in my arms. We fit together perfectly, my love. Just give me a few minutes and I'll be over soon."

Sean walked in with his bags. Sue tilted her head with a puzzled look on her face. Sean simply said " I figured I would bring my stuff over here since we are leaving in the morning. She smiled and said " We should probably never tell my dad we shared a room." Sean nodded his head and said "Agreed". Sue noticed that Sean was wearing an undershirt with his sweats. She had gotten kind of used to seeing his chest naked. She sighed. " What's wrong, Suzy Q?" " Nothing" she said.

Sean put his stuff down and crawled into the bed. Sue grabbed him by the neck and pulled him over to her and kissed his lips. Sean gladly followed her lead. Sean deepened the kiss while Sue was exploring Sean with her hands. She ran her hands through his hair and down his biceps, running them down his chest to the bottom of his undershirt. She started pulling it up so she could touch Sean's bare chest. He broke away from the kiss long enough to let her take his shirt over his head. "Sue, let me know if we do anything that makes you uncomfortable." Sue answered "Babe, I have been wanting to touch you and be with you for a long time. I know you would never rush me or make me feel uncomfortable. I want to connect with you in the deepest and most meaningful way possible." Sean took a deep breath and asked " Do you mean what I think you mean? Remember, we aren't always the best at being clear with our feelings." Sue replied " I will be more clear." As she started undressing herself. She removed her top and cuddled up next to Sean arching her back so her chest pressed up against his. Sean stopped her and said " Hold on, babe. I didn't bring any protection so tonight we can do some other things." Sue said " I guess we should be good then." Sean said " Oh I'll be good. I promise. Tonight will be all about pleasing you, my love." Sean began kissing her neck and continued kissing and gently exploring her body. She was moaning " Oh my God, you're driving me insane!" He looked up into her eyes and her pupils were quite dialated. He nodded his head to ask permission to continue. Sue blatantly said " Don't you dare stop!" Sean lovingly proceeded to take her to emotional and physical heights she had never imagined before. When Sue was able to collect her thoughts again she simply looked Sean in the eyes and said "We are Soo doing that again soon." Then she snuggled into Sean's arms. Sean simply said " All I ever want to do is make you happy." " I love you Soo much, Sean." " I love you too and if you are sure you want to take the next step, then I will make sure we are prepared for the next time." Sue nodded her head and said " Oh I am ready, If you are." Sean answered by kissing her deeply. " Goodnight, my love. We will discuss tomorrow. I need to go take a cold shower real quick. I love you, Suzy Q." " I love you too." Sean exited the bed and went to take a cold shower. Sue had gotten excited enough to reach for his boxers a time or two but Sean knew he had to be responsible so tonight it was a cold shower. He finished his shower then rejoined Sue in bed. The two lovebirds held each other and fell asleep in each other's arms one more time before heading back to reality.


	5. Chapter 5

Sean woke up feeling happier than he had felt in a really long time. He looked at Sue's relaxed face while she was still sleeping. He felt like the luckiest man alive. He felt stupid sometimes for waiting until right before he left to work things out with Sue. Over the summer, they had discussed all of their missed opportunities. He wished he would have been more clear about his feelings way before he chased the Hecks down on the side of the road. He couldn't turn back time. He did, however, want to make up for time lost. He snuck out of bed, went to the parlor, and looked at the room service menu. He ordered them both breakfast consisting of pancakes, eggs, sausage and orange juice. After ordering, he softly crawled back into the bed. He was going to miss this tonight when he was back at his parent's house and knowing Sue would be across the street would be torture.

Sue could feel Sean looking at her. She rolled on her side to face him. Sean said " Good morning, my beautiful snowflake." Sue replied " It's a wonderful morning because you're holding me. Good morning to you too, handsome." as she leaned in towards him. Sean kissed her gently and then said " Honey, we need to talk about what we decided last night." Sue said " You mean the part about us taking the next step in our relationship?" Sean replied " Yes, that part. I know that we have both been waiting for the right time and person. I used to think I would wait until marriage before being that intimate. I know you did too. I don't want you to make this decision lightly or because of what happened last night. I need you to tell me that you have thought this out and want your first time to be with me." Sue replied " Sean, I have had a couple of boyfriends in college and we did stuff but never anything like last night. Yes, I once thought I would wait for marriage, but just know that I want to be as close as humanly possible with you. I have thought this through. You and I are soulmates. I know it is way too early for us to discuss marriage since we've only been dating for three months and that was long distance. We would be crazy to think that way already but what I do know, is that I want to be intimate with you. I trust you with all my heart. And I believe that one day, way in the future, after school and you finish med school that we will be married someday. You are going to be an awesome doctor and to do that, you will need to work hard. I don't want us to be an issue. And I'm sorry, but with how we feel about each other, trying not to go all the way would be a huge distraction. And just so you know how serious I am, I already went to the doctor and started birth control pills. The doctor told me to use other protection for at least a month." Sean was smiling wide and shaking his head. He leaned in and kissed her again. He said " Suzy Q, I agree with you. I know we are soulmates and I believe we will be married one day so I feel like taking the next step is natural. And yes, we should always use at least two types of protection. I love you so much! Just knowing that you were already thinking this way makes me feel more comfortable with our decision. The last thing I would ever do is pressure you or put ideas in your head that you weren't ready for. And I would never want to hurt you." Sue reached out and pulled Sean to her and kissed him passionately. Then there was a knock at the door.

Sue pulled back and looked puzzled. She said "Who in the world could that be?" Sean said "I'll be right back." with a big smile on his face. Sean walked back in a few minutes later with a tray full of food. Sue squealed " OH Sean! How did you know I was starving? You are such a sweet boyfriend!" He said " Calm down now and let's have breakfast in bed and enjoy the rest of our morning together. I requested a late check-out so we have more time alone. After that, do you know what you want to do today?" Sue suggested " I may need to go shopping again because the outfit I had planned for tonight is dirty and I have nothing to wear this evening. The store I bought those other outfits at was having an awesome sale. What do you think about us doing that today?" Sean nodded his head " As long as we are together I don't care what we do, Suzy Q". They ate their breakfast, cuddled, and made out until Sean's phone alarm went off. Sean said " That is our queue to start getting ready for the day. He got up and grabbed his bags. "Ladies first, my dear. I'll start tidying up while you take your shower. Then I'll hop in the shower in the other bathroom to give you plenty of time to get dried off and dressed. If stay in here, I'm afraid we might miss our check out time. I'll meet you back in here in about 30 minutes."

They got ready for the day and went to the mall. Sue didn't take long to find a cute floral shorts romper. She had almost bought it when she was shopping with Nancy but she thought she only needed two outfits. On their way back through the mall, they walked by a jewelry store having a clearance sale. Sue couldn't help but look over towards the display case. Sean said " Let's look for fun." Sean stopped in front of a case that had promise rings in it. Sean said " Sue, we talked this morning and we are both all in on this relationship so would you be willing to accept a promise ring as a sign of my commitment to us?" Sue almost jumped with joy as she said " Only if you would accept one from me as a reminder that no matter how busy we get or how hard life gets, that we are here for each other." Sean grabbed Sue in a tight embrace and kissed her. He released her and pointed at a small but perfect silver heart ring with diamond accents. " What do you think of that one?" It reminded him of Sue, dainty and sparkly. Sue loved it. " It's perfect!" He said " Now you can pick one for me. Sue picked a titanium and black one for him. They paid for the rings and put them on each other's ring finger on their left hands. Sean said " I promise to be faithful, loyal and to always be here for you. This ring is a reminder of our end game." Sue replied " I make the same promise to you. This ring will always remind me that we will always be here for each other and that we are worth the wait." Sean cupped her face lovingly in his hands and kissed her firmly. Sean looked at the time and said " Well, Suzy Q, I guess we need to head back to Orson so we will be on time for the party."

They arrived back in Orson about an hour before the party started. Sean wanted time to let Sue freshen up. He could drop off his things, freshen up and spend a little time with his sisters before the party as well. They pulled into his driveway and parked. Sean was happy to be home but also sad his alone time with Sue was over for now. He got out of the car and opened Sue's door. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a gentle kiss. " I love you very much. Go home and get ready and I'll come get you in about 30 minutes." Sue replied " I'll see you in 30! I love you soo much right now, Sean Donahue!" They held hands as they were walking. Sean decided to walk her across the street which was already blocked off. There were tables all over with balloons, confetti, and food. A few people were there helping set up. Sean waved and kept walking holding Sue's hand.

As Sue and Sean walked up to the Heck's door, Frankie opened the door. " Hi guys! Did you have fun? Come in and tell me all about it. Sean, come in and tell me all about Ghana." Sean replied "Maybe later, Mrs. Heck, Right now, I need to go home and get ready for the party and see if my mom needs any help. Sue, I'll come back to get you in about 30 minutes." Sue replied " Sounds good, babe." Sean turned around and saw his mom and sisters walking their way. "Sean! Welcome home!" His sister's yelled in unison as they ran into his arms giving him a big hug. Sean waved bye to Sue and Mrs. Heck as he walked away with his sisters and Nancy. It had only been two days since they saw him at dinner but they had been good at dinner and didn't swarm their brother. "Sean, come tell us all about Ghana!" Sean replied "Come on girls, let's help mom get this party started!"

Meanwhile, Frankie was sitting on Sue's bed while Sue was trying to fix her make up. Frankie was trying to get Sue to tell her about her time with Sean. "Come on, Sue. Give me the dets, I promise not to tell Dad." Sue said " Mom, I promise to tell you about it later but right now, I kinda need to get ready." Frankie reluctantly said "Well, okay. Just promise me we will dish about it when we have some girl time. Oh, and by the way, you may want to use some concealer on your neck before your Dad sees you." Sue's eyes popped wide open "No, No, No.. Oh no! Oh my gosh! It's too hot to wear a scarf! What am I going to do?!" Frankie laughed and went over to help Sue hide her hickey. After a few minutes of using concealer and makeup, Frankie said " It's not noticeable anymore. You'll be fine. But maybe you keep you dad on your right side." Sue said " That sounds like a good idea." The door bell rang. "I'll get it!" exclaimed Sue. Sue ran to the door. Sue opened the door. Lexie and Brad were standing there. "Sue!" They both said enthusiastically. They had a group hug and started jumping up and down while Brad said " We couldn't wait to come over and hear about your hotel stay with your hunky doctor to be boyfriend!" Lexie said " It must have been _really_ good considering the size of that hickey!" Before Sue could say anything, Mike turned the corner from the hallway and said " That what?! Brad better have a hickey or I'm going to kill Sean!" Frankie stepped in front of Mike. "Now calm down, Mike! Sue is 21 and can make out with her boyfriend, a young man who we have known all of his life by the way. Sean said he would not rush Sue into anything and I believe him." Sue said "Dad! I am sorry you are upset but I can do whatever I want with my boyfriend." Mike said " I don't like it." " I know, Dad but I am a grown up. I can even drink alcohol legally. Besides, You know Sean will never hurt me." Mike said " He better not. My warning still stands." " Yes, I know, Dad."

Sean was walking towards the Heck house when he heard Mr. Heck tell Sue his warning still stood. Sean said " Hey there, everyone. Are you ready to party?" Mike glared at him. " Sean, I really like you and I know you make Sue even happier than normal if that's possible. However, I would suggest not leaving hickeys on my daughter again. Understand?" Sean was shocked. He had not realized that he had gotten that carried away. "Mr. Heck, I am Soo sorry. Sue, I would never intentionally leave marks on you. I will be very careful not to do that again." Mike muttered " If you know what's best for you." Sean said " I do, believe me, Mr. Heck." Mike nodded his head and went into the living room. Sean was trying to get the group out the door when Nancy and his sisters came over. Nancy said " Hey guys, Can we get the guest of honor to come welcome some guests?" Sean said " We are on our way, Mom!" Brick walked up and Sean said " Hey, Brickster, how was your summer? Are you coming to my party with us?" " Hey, Sean. Welcome home! Did you and Sue get married? Those rings on your left hand kind of look like wedding rings." Everyone gasped and spoke all at once. Brad said " OMG! What?!" Lexie said " No way!" as she reached for her phone. Frankie said " Sue?!" Nancy said "Sean Donahue, You have some explaining to do." But the loudest voice came from Mike " Rings? Don't you dare tell me you proposed to my daughter already!" Sue and Sean were shocked and looking at each other when Sean finally yelled over everyone and said "CALM DOWN! LET US EXPLAIN!"

Out of nowhere, the crowd heard Axl " What the hell, Sean?! You did not propose to my sister! It's bad enough that the thought of my best friend doing _anything_ with my sister makes me physically ill but come on.. you've been home like two whole days. I used to think you were cool." Lexie had Axl on video chat and had turned the phone around. Lexie apologize saying " Sorry, I had called Axl because he wanted to say welcome back . man, I have horrible timing." Sean was shaking his head. Sean had enough and raised his voice very unlike a Donahue. " Look everyone! These are promise rings. Not that it's any business of anyone here except for me and Sue because we are adults. We know that we are meant for each other. We also know that the next couple of years will be tough. These are here to remind us that we are worth the wait." He said as he grabbed Sue's hand and held them up in the air. Nancy, Frankie, Shelley, Dottie, Lexie and Brad said "Aww.." at the same time. Brick said " Sorry, what just happened? I was looking at my Planet Nowhere book. I think it's missing a page. It may be time to get a new one." Mike said " I knew you were smarter than that Darrin guy." Axl was watching this on video chat and said "Seriously, Sean! You're making me look bad. Not cool, man! Bro, Call me after the party though. We need to catch up." Sean nodded at Axl and said "Ax man, I'll call you later tonight. And I am sorry but I am going to continue to spoil Sue. You're just going to have to get used to it." Axl rolled his eyes and said " I guess it could be worse. Later, dude! Lex, call me when you leave the party" Lexie walked away with her phone talking to Axl. Sean took a deep breath then grabbed Sue's hand again and Brad's shoulder and directed them back towards the block party. He motioned his head towards the street looking at his Mom and sisters and said "Okay now, can we go mingle with the guests who have started showing up?"


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I do not own the middle or any characters of the Middle. These are my thoughts only. I hope everyone is enjoying this story. I appreciate the reviews. I am still trying to decide if I will write in the two breakups or not. I guess we will have to see where this story takes us.

Sean ans Sue walked around with Lexie and Brad for the first hour of the block party successfully avoiding their families. Mike was hanging out at the grill with Ron Donahue and Bill Norwood. Frankie and Nancy were walking around together talking to the other ladies in the neighborhood. Sean could tell that Mike had told his dad about the rings. Ron kept looking at them and giving Sean a look that said " We need to talk." Sean just smiled at his dad and kept walking and visiting with other people. Nancy and Frankie kept talking to people and pointing towards them. Lexie finally got Sue to leave Sean's side for a few minutes to go get a drink while Sean was stuck talking to a buddy from high school and Brad had gone over to Frankie and Nancy at Sue's request to try to find out what they were saying about the confusion earlier at the Heck house.

Lexie said " Okay, now we are alone. Let me see that ring." Sue held up her hand. Lexie sighed " You two really are sweet together. I don't know how it took you guys so long to get together. Maybe Axl will take some notes on how Sean treats you and figure out how to do more romantic things for me." Sue smiled. She really did have the sweetest man ever. " Lex, Axl really does love you. He has never been very good at expressing his feelings. Sean was raised in a family where they do these kind of things. Our family pushes holidays and birthdays for goodness sakes." Sue looked over at Sean who was still talking to his buddy. He saw her looking and he smiled big and winked at her. Lexie said "Soo.. I can't wait to hear how your hotel stay with Sean went. Obviously, it went very well by how red you are turning. And I can't wait to hear how the promise rings came into place. Oh here comes Brad." Sue turned around just as Brad was walking up. " Okay, Brad what is the mood with our Moms?". Sue said to change the subject. She knew she would tell both of her best friends eventually about her time with Sean but she knew tonight was not the time or place. Brad answered " Well, Sue, They seem genuinely happy about the rings. They're also glad you guys didn't get married yet." Sue gasped "Yet?! Why do you say yet?" Brad tilted his head and said " Oh honey, I'm pretty sure they are already planning your wedding. I heard them say something about next summer and seeing what days the church was available." Sue rolled her eyes. " I'm sure they are talking about something else." Both Lexie and Brad said " Yeah right!". They all started laughing. She looked up and saw Sean walking her way. " Okay guys, here comes Sean. Stop with the marriage talk."

Sean walked up next to Sue and put his arm around her. " Hey guys, what's going on?" Sue replied " We were just talking about how many people showed up and so on and so forth and what have you." Lexie and Brad just looked at each other and Brad said " And how many people from high school showed up. Oh my God! Did somebody invite Darrin? Because he is walking this way." Sue felt a little panicked. Sure, she had told Darrin about her and Sean that day months ago in the Frugal Hoosier and he seemed okay with it, but she had not seen him since. As far as she knew, Sean hadn't talked to him either. Sean had told her that he had sent him that one message but the topic never came up again. Sue grabbed Sean's hand tighter. Sean leaned down and whispered in her ear " Don't worry, Suzy Q, Everything is okay. My mom invited him. She knew you ran into him and that things were cool with us." Sue looked up and into Sean's eyes. " I know it will be. I just didn't expect to see him here tonight." Sean leaned down and kissed Sue softly.

Right about then, Darrin cleared his throat. Sue was a tad flushed. Sean put his arm possessively around Sue and pulled her to him. Sean was the first to speak. " Hey, bro. How's it going? I'm glad you could make it. " Sean reached out his left hand to shake Darrin's hand. Darrin noticed the ring and said " Whoa! What the hell? I know you said you guys were dating but when did you guys get married?!" Darrin paused. Sean said " Darrin, calm down! It's not what you think." Darrin interrupted " What I think is that one of my ex best friends broke the bro code by asking my ex fiancé to marry him. Look, I've been trying to be cool with you guys but what? You get married after like three months! Not cool!" Darrin went to walk off. Sean followed him " Dude, we didn't get married! It's a promise ring! Don't leave! Let's talk this out" Sean went to grab Darrin's arm. Darrin turned around and swung at Sean. Sean ducked and grabbed Darrin's arm.

Sue screamed "Darrin! Stop it!" Sean said " Dude, you can be upset if you want. But that's not going to change the fact that Sue and I are in love. We didn't plan on falling in love and neither of us would hurt you intentionally. I really think I loved her even back when you were dating her. I just fought my feelings. I am a Donahue and I always do what's right. She was off limits because she was your ex and Axl's sister. But I couldn't fight my feelings anymore. I want you know that I was miserable trying to get her out of my head. I even had trouble concentrating on my studies the first semester of medical school. Sue made me realize that I didn't always have to act like a Donahue. She told me that I was going to be amazing because I am me not because I'm a Donahue. Well, part of being me was realizing that I couldn't stop loving her. Besides, I thought you were over her by now. Aren't you engaged to someone else?"

Darrin apologized " Look, I'm sorry I overreacted. I thought I was okay with this and maybe with time I will be. I am engaged to a beautiful woman and I really do love her, but when I saw the rings, it just hit me like a punch in my gut. Sue was my first love and I guess I just felt a tad jealous that you ended up being the one for her. I never felt like I was good enough for her after we broke up. And seeing that she ended up with such a great guy just made me feel like I was right." Sue jumped in and said " Darrin, you and I had a great relationship, but it just wasn't meant to be. I never meant to hurt you. But you must realize that you and I were just not soulmates. It would have never worked out. We were too young and immature to get married." Darrin answered " Yeah, I do know that and I didn't mean to come here and make a scene. Sue, I wish you the best, really. I mean, if you weren't going to be with me then at least I know Sean is the next best thing. He is a good man." Sean reached out his hand for a handshake. Darrin took it and pulled Sean into a hug. " Bro, you better make her happy." Sean replied " I plan on doing everything in my power to make sure she is happy. That's all I have ever wanted." Darrin nodded his head and said " Okay then I wish you all the best. Look, I'm gonna go now. I didn't mean to ruin your party." Sean simply said " Dude, I understand. However, it probably is a good time for you to leave. Go see your girl and think about all of the things you love about her. And dude, something tells me that she wouldn't want to hear about you getting this upset about Sue ."

Darrin looked around and saw the crowd was watching. Mike Heck had suddenly appeared by Sue's side. Frankie and Nancy were standing right behind Sue. Each of them had a hand on one of her shoulders. Sean walked back up and took Sue's hand in his. Darrin looked at Sue and said " Sue, You do deserve the best and I hope you are happy." Sue nodded her head. " I am. Sean really does make me happy. I have to admit that I also fought my feelings for him for a really long time, but I didn't think he saw me as anything other than Axl's little sister, so I let it go. Or at least I tried to get over my feelings. In the end, I couldn't so, if you ever really cared for me, you will be happy for me. I am happier than I have ever been." Darrin nodded his head and looked down at the ground. He looked up again and announced to the crowd " Everyone, please excuse me now. I need to go home." Darrin turned around and walked away.

Sean turned towards Sue and took her into his arms. " Suzy Q, I am so sorry you had to go through this and especially in front of all of our family and friends. I am ready to disappear from this party to spend some alone time with you if you want to." Sue was standing there nodding her head not really knowing what to say. Sean turned to the crowd that had grown behind them and loudly said " Thank you everyone for being here. It was great seeing you all and I hate to disappoint anyone, but I am going to take my girlfriend for a drive. Please stay and enjoy the party." Nancy said "Sean, you're the guest of honor. You can't leave." Sean turned around and said " Mom, Thank you so much for the party. We will be back. But like I said before, sometimes I need to do something that a "Donahue" wouldn't normally do. And in case you haven't noticed, Sue is upset. After we talk and she is ready to come back, we will." Sean took Sue by the hand and they walked away. They noticed that both of their cars were blocked in. Sue said " Let's go to my house. We can go hang out in the back yard for a bit."

They walked into the Heck's house. Brick was sitting at his microfiche machine. Sean said " Brickster, how long have you been here? I thought you were at the party." Brick replied " I was for a while. But when Darrin showed up, everyone started watching you guys and I was bored so I came home." Sue said " We are going to go out to the backyard and hang out for a bit. If anyone asks, just tell them we needed to talk." Sean said " Are we okay?" Sue said " Come on, let's talk outside."

Outside, they walked over to the picnic table and sat on it like they did that fateful night eight months ago on Christmas Eve. Sean was rubbing his hand over Sue's. " Suzy Q, I'm not sure what you are thinking right now but I'm sorry our night got so crazy tonight. When my mom asked if she could invite Darrin, I really thought it would be okay." Sue was still visibly upset. She replied " Sean, I love you, I really do, but I didn't want for "us" to hurt anyone. And now, Darrin is upset. Your mom is probably upset because we left. And just look at how people reacted to our promise rings." Sean was shaking his head " Sue, Darrin will be fine. You heard him. He loves his fiancé. He was just shocked when he thought we had gotten married already. And if you recall, that's why everyone else freaked out. I know that "we" may seem new to others because we have spent the majority of our relationship thousands of miles apart, but we have been dating for over three months now. You and I have put a lot of time into our relationship in that amount of time. Plus, I have been in love with you for way longer. Like I said earlier, you made me realize that I should be myself. And I will not feel bad about being with you. But now, I need you to tell me.. have you changed your mind about being with me?"

Sue looked panicked. " Sean, NO. I have not changed my mind. I guess I just got overwhelmed tonight. The last couple nights and our day out was magical. I guess I just wasn't ready for you and I to be in the spotlight. And I sure didn't expect Darrin to show up or care about you and me still." Sean hugged Sue and asked " So are we okay then?" Sue nodded her head while looking Sean in the eyes. Sean leaned in and kissed her again just like he had on Christmas Eve.

Their kiss was interrupted this time by fireworks. Sue had forgotten that the Donahue's had bought fireworks around the 4th of July and had waited to display them until Sean had come home. Sue said " Come on. Your mom worked hard to save fireworks for your homecoming. She even got a special permit so she could have a show tonight. Let's go rejoin the party." She grabbed Sean's hand and pulled him back into the house. She grabbed a blanket off the couch. They went out into her front yard and sat on the blanket. Sue sat in between Sean's legs leaning back into Sean's chest. Sean wrapped his arms around her and they sat back and watched the fireworks. Sean whispered into Sue's ear " I love you so much and I wish I could hold you all night tonight. I'm going to miss you sleeping next to me. Are you sure you don't want to move back into the apartment tomorrow?" Sue snuggled closer to Sean and replied. " I love you too. And I love how you think, Sean Donahue."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry it has taken a while to update. Thank you guys for the reviews. I really appreciate you taking the time to do them.

Sean laid down on the blanket to watch the fireworks. Sue laid her head on Sean's shoulder while laying on her side. Sue started subconsciously running her fingers over Sean's chest drawing little imaginary hearts on his shirt. He couldn't resist leaning in and kissing Sue on the forehead. Lexie and Brad were sitting beside them. They glanced at each other knowingly. Brad leaned over and said quietly to Lexie " You can tell how much he adores her." Lexie nodded her head. Lexie replied "Yeah and she lights up even more than normal when she's around him or even talks about him if that's possible." Brad said " Honey, she has always lit up like a Christmas tree whenever she was around him. Girl, I just don't know how he didn't see it." The fireworks ended after about an hour. Then Nancy started calling Sean's name. Sean got up reluctantly because he saw his mom waving him over.

Sue was sitting there when Lexie and Brad moved closer to talk. Lexie said " So.. You guys look very comfortable together." Brad said " It's almost like you guys have a new level of intimacy. Hmm.." He said with a questioning look on his face while lifting his eyebrows. Sue turned a light shade of pink. Luckily, it was dark outside. Sue changed the subject and asked Lexie " So.. would you be okay if I moved back into the apartment tomorrow?" Lexie said " Well, of course. I moved back in yesterday. If you get settled early enough, we can do lunch and catch up." Brad said " I can help tomorrow if you need me. And I wouldn't mind hearing about your reconciliation with your hunky boyfriend and spending two nights alone in a hotel." Sue said " Sounds like a plan. I just feel like everyone is watching our every move here. And I think I want my first official date with Sean to be in Gumford. So.. I figured I can move in the morning , have lunch with you guys and then maybe you guys can help me with my hair and makeup for tomorrow night." Brad said " Uh huh. You want some "privacy" with your sexy boyfriend. This talk sounds like it will be juicy. Don't you dare leave anything out. I want to hear all the details. Well, maybe not all." He winked at Sue. They continued figuring out details for " moving in" day and what outfit Sue needed to wear.

Sean came back over and sat down next to Sue after he said goodbye to almost everyone. Brad said "Lexie, come with me to get another drink. Let's give these two a minute." Sean said " What was up with that?" Sue said " I have something to tell you." Sean raised his eyebrows and said " What's on your mind, darling?" Sue excitedly told him" I'm going to move back into my apartment tomorrow morning so we can have our first official date in Gumford. I feel like we will have more fun if we aren't worried about what time we get home, who we run into, OR where we stay the night. You're moving into yours tomorrow, right?" Sean replied " Yes, I am. My parents and I were going to move in the morning and then have lunch before they head back to Orson. After that, I figured I would start getting ready for our date. I am so ready to spend more alone time with you. I thought I could pick you up around 5 . We need to be where we are going by 6. I would like to surprise you with the first part though if you don't mind. Then, I have a dinner reservation after my surprise so we won't eat until 8:30. How does that sound to you?" Sue couldn't wait. She really didn't care what they did as long as they were together. She knew that he only had a few days before his schedule got hectic again. " Sean, That actually sounds perfect. I just want to spend time with you. I missed you so much and it still seems like a dream that you're home now and we're together finally. Whatever you have planned will be amazing. I would be happy staying in ordering a pizza and watching something on Netflix too. I feel like we have missed out on too much time together." Sean nodded his head and said " I know just what you mean. I have never missed anyone as much as I missed you. I love you more than words can express, Suzy Q."

Sean leaned in and kissed Sue gently, wrapping her in his arms. Sue wrapped her arms around his neck and started running her fingers through his hair. Sean's hands were caressing Sue's arms and shoulders. Before they knew it, they had laid over and were laying on the blanket kissing passionately. They didn't seem to notice that they were getting a little more heated than they needed to be. Sue was pulling Sean down closer to her. Sean had positioned himself over Sue with his knee between her legs. He could feel his heart racing. He had never felt this way before. He just couldn't get enough of kissing her. Sue had never felt so comfortable and yet so excited at the same time. She gently bit Sean's lower lip and he let out a passionate moan. Sue mumbled " Mmm. I really like it when you make that sound." He said " And I REALLY liked the sounds you made last night at the hotel. And I cannot wait to hear you make them again. Man, I wish we were still there. I am going to miss sleeping next to you tonight." He couldn't believe that after two nights, he felt like he would be so lonely sleeping without her wrapped up in his arms. He continued kissing her with a desire that was new to him. Sue got carried away nibbled his lip gently again. He couldn't help but moan again. This time a bit louder than before. That was when they heard a familiar voice yell " Sean Donahue! What are you doing? Get off my sister! What the hell, Dude!"

Both Sean and Sue jumped up at the sound of Axl's yelling. Sue exclaimed " Oh my God! Axl ! What are you doing here? Calm down! We were just kissing. Nothing was going to happen." Sue was embarrassed and slightly flushed. Axl's yelling had caused a crowd. Lexie came running through the crowd. " Axl! You are here?! I can't believe it! What is going on?" Axl said " Well I came back to surprise my best friend and my girlfriend at Sean's welcome back party and spend the weekend with my beautiful girlfriend. But, I walked up and saw Sean on top of my sister doing unmentionable things!" Sean replied " Axl, I am so sorry you saw that. We were just saying goodbye and we just missed each other so much, we just got carried away." Sean continued " Axl, you're going to see us kissing a lot when you're here because I really like kissing Sue and we have a lot of time to make up for." Axl said " Dude, I get that for some reason you and my sister REALLY like each other, but I REALLY don't want to see you guys being intimate at all!" Sean replied " We will try not to get carried away in public again, but all we were doing was kissing. It may have looked bad and for that I apologize. I promise you that I am not going to do anything inappropriate in public with Suzy Q. She is way too special to be taken disrespected or disgraced like that. " Sue interrupted " Axl! How many times have I walked in on you and Lexie making out in our living room? A LOT! I'm sorry but, I am an adult and can make out with my boyfriend any time I want!" Sean grabbed Sue's hand and said " Sue, It's okay, REALLY. Axl has always been a protective brother when it comes to you. Why do you think he always told his guy friends that you were off limits? He just wants you to not get hurt. He just hasn't realized that I am not going to hurt you yet." Sean leaned over and kissed her on the forehead again. Sue smiled.

Nancy Donahue had been standing there listening to Axl and Sean in shock. Nancy said "Sean Donahue! I taught you to be more respectful than that. What were you thinking?." Nancy continued and said " I'm sorry, but what in the world do you think Mike would have done if he saw that scene that we saw?" Sean said " Good point, Mom. I am sorry for such intense PDA and will do better at controlling my actions in public." Sue said " Babe, I am just as guilty of not paying attention to our surroundings. I promise to be more attentive too." Sean shook his head and said " You did nothing wrong, baby. But maybe you can remind me to behave when we are around other people." Sue just smiled and said " We can remind each other." Nancy couldn't help but smile and say " Well, I am just so happy you guys are finally together. And I know that you guys are young and in love. However, the front yard is not a place to show it to each other and the rest of the world. Donahue's do not show such public displays of affection. Now, I have to finish cleaning up. Sean, I assume you will be home soon to spend time with the family before you have to leave for school tomorrow, right?" Sean answered "Of course, Mom."

Axl calmed down and said " Look! I know you guys have been dating for months now but it was a lot easier for me when you were thousands of miles away from each other. I didn't have to worry about you guys doing _things_." Sean said " Ax man, I know you have never liked your friends dating Sue but you are just going to have to get used to Sue and I as a couple. I know you are still adjusting to us being together but I love your sister and I really like kissing her." Sue said " Yeah Axl, and I like kissing him so deal with it! And whatever Sean and I do is none of your business! What if I said that you couldn't kiss Lexie around me?" Axl said " I would still kiss her no matter what!" as her put his arm around Lexie. " Exactly!" Sue exclaimed. Axl responded "Alright. I will try to look the other way. Anyway, Sean, I came back to spend time with you and Lexie. I tried to get here earlier but my flight got delayed. Sorry I missed your party. So,with that said, welcome home. Hopefully, we can all hang out tomorrow sometime. Let's work it out in the morning. Right now, it's way later than I planned to get here and I want to spend some time with Lexie. So.. Goodnight" He said as he reached out to take Sean's hand. Sean pulled him into a brotherly hug. Axl suddenly remembered that he hadn't seen his parents yet. "Oh, Sue tell Mom and Dad that I'll come by tomorrow. Lexie, Are you ready?" Lexie was still in shock. " Yes, I am Soo ready."

Sean turned to Sue. " Suzy Q, let me walk you to your door. We can go home and get some sleep tonight. Will that work for you? I will text you when I have a chance during the day tomorrow every chance I get. I love you." Sue said " Yeah, I think I am ready to go home now." Sean walked Sue to her door. He started to apologize. " I am so sorry that my actions embarrassed you tonight." Sue replied " Honey, These were OUR actions and I would do it again." Sue reached her arms around Sean's neck and continued " Sean, I know you think that you can't act on your emotions because you are a Donahue, but I love it that you are yourself around me. I love that you don't always act like a " Donahue". You act like Sean. And I am in love with you, Sean. I think that's why we work so well. We don't put up a front with each other." Sean smiled " You always make me feel better. I love you so much!" Sean kissed her longingly. Sue's hands started caressing Sean's shoulders when the porch light flashed on and off. "Geesh! Dad, I will be in a minute!" Sean giggled " It's okay. We need to go get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. I love you, Suzy Q." " I love you more than you know." Sue replied.

Sean went home and sat up for a couple hours telling his parents and sisters all about his fellowship in Ghana. He told them a little about his day with Sue at the fair as well. Across the street, Sue had gone inside to get bombarded with questions from a slightly tipsy Frankie. After about an hour, she finally had told her mom just enough to get her to let her go to bed. She looked out the front window and saw that Sean's bedroom light was still on. She text Sean and said " I am so ready to be back in Gumford. Finally going to bed. My mom wanted to know all about your homecoming. I told her about our day at the fair. I think she is content for now. I love you! Goodnight!" Sean had text her back to let her know he was also ready to be back in Gumford since he was still up getting questions. " I understand more than you know. My sisters and Mom have asked me almost every question they can think of about Ghana and about our hotel stay. I'm pretty sure that I have blushed a few times. I finally told them that it all I was going to say about us is that I had the time of my life. I love you so much. Sleep well, my snowflake." Sue had VERY sweet dreams of her and Sean that night.


	8. Chapter 8

Sue got up early the next day. She had to finish packing her car. As soon as Frankie had found out that Axl was in Gumford, she had started helping Sue pack. She told Mike that they were helping Sue move back into the apartment so they could see Axl. Sue had text Lexie " Just so you know, Mom and Dad are coming with me to move me back in. They want to see Axl. They said something about taking all of us to lunch."

The Heck family all came with Sue to help her "move in"day. Lexie and Axl were sitting on the couch watching TV when they got there. Frankie dropped the bags she was carrying and ran to hug her son. "Axl, why didn't you let me know you were coming back for a visit?" " Well, Mom. Have you ever heard of a surprise? I planned on getting here early enough yesterday to be at Sean's party and surprise everyone including you." Frankie said " Well how long are you here for?" Axl replied " I was able to take a vacation day on Monday so I catch a flight back Monday afternoon." Frankie said " That's not much time! I was hoping we could spend some time together while you're here." Axl rolled his eyes " Dad, would you calm your wife down and remind her that we video chat all the time and I might want to spend some time with my girlfriend this weekend?" Mike shook his head and said " Axl, I am sure you can spend some time with us today then we can leave you alone the rest of the weekend to hang out with Lexie and Sean. Frankie, will that work for you?" Frankie nodded her head and grabbed her phone and checked her text message. Frankie said " Nancy Donahue is asking if all of us want to join them at the barbeque place for lunch today at one. Does that sound good to everyone?" Sue said " That sounds great!" Brick said " I wanted a burger." Lexie and Axl looked at each other and Axl replied " That sounds good. Then I can see the Donahue's too. Did you know that she still sends me care packages once a month?" Mike said " Brick, you can probably get a burger there. If not, you will survive." Frankie said "Aww, Axl, That is so sweet. Okay then, I will let her know that we will be there."

Sue text Sean "So, I guess we are all having lunch together today. I am happy that I get to see you earlier than we planned. Plus, I can't wait to see you tonight too." Sean text her back " Suzy Q, I'm so glad we get some more together time with our families. About tonight, would it be horrible if we double dated with Lexie and Axl? I know it won't be the special night I had planned but I can make that up to you next weekend when Axl isn't in town, if that's okay with you." Sue was a little disappointed but she also wanted to spend time with her brother so she was also glad her boyfriend had suggested it. "Sean, that sounds like a great plan. We can work it out at lunch. Love you!" Sean replied " I love you too. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful and understanding girlfriend." Sue was smiling from ear to ear as she continued to unpack.

When they arrived at the restaurant, the Donahue's were already there. Sean stood up as soon as he saw Sue. He walked over to Lexie and the Heck's. " Mr. And Mrs. Heck, So glad you could join us today." As he reached out to shake Mike's hand. After he shook Mike's hand, he put his arm around Sue while saying hi to Axl and Lexie. He guided Sue back to the table and pulled out the chair for her. Frankie looked at Mike who seemed oblivious. She pulled out her own chair and caught Nancy's eyes and nodded her head toward Sean and Sue. Frankie text Nancy "How cute are they?" Nancy replied " I know, I haven't seen Sean this happy in a long time."

After lunch, the Donahue's decided to head back to Orson. Sean told them goodbye and came back to the rest of the group. "Axl and Lexie, would you guys like to hang out with Sue and I tonight and have a double date? I know you probably want some alone time but we can give you that tomorrow if you like." Axl said " Dude, that would be great as long as you don't make out with the dork in front of me." Sue yelled "Axl!" Sean replied "Come on, Axl, you need to stop calling her names. We are all adults now and I am not going to let you call my girlfriend names anymore." Axl rolled his eyes "Fine, Sean. I still don't know how comfortable I am going to be around you guys as a couple. But, I am going to try my best to not be grossed out." Sean said " Okay, then I will text you later. But for now, Sue would you like to come with me to get some dessert?" Sue replied "Absolutely. Oh wait! Mom, Dad, do you mind?" Frankie and Mike looked at each other before Frankie replied " Go on with Sean. We are just going to hang out a little bit longer then head back to Orson. I can already tell that Axl is tired of us cramping his style already." Sue hugged her Mom and Dad. " Okay, I will talk to you later. We will see you guys soon, Lexie." As Sean took her hand and they walked away.

When they got out to Sean's car, he opened the door for her. Sue asked " What did you have in mind for desert?" Sean replied " I thought it would be nice for just the two of us to go get some ice cream and then maybe we can go back to my place for a little bit and hang out. It seems like forever since we have been alone." Sue excitedly replied " That sounds wonderful." Sean got in the car and continued " Sue, I have been thinking about us taking things to the next level and I think we should wait for a bit longer. I would hate to think we made an important decision like that because we missed each other. So, we can play around like we did the other night and do other things. However, I want our first time to be special and right." Sue was nodding her head. " Sean, I totally agree. Yes, I got on birth control and I have thought about this decision a lot. However, we should take some time and make it special. But I hope we can keep doing other things and having the occasional sleep over because I have never slept as soundly than I did in your arms." Sean smiled and said " I slept REALLY good next to you too. I definitely want that to happen more often. However, I do think that after our date tonight, I will need to go home. I am not about to try to explain to your brother that we are spending the night together and what is not happening. He would never believe us." Sue was nodding her head. "You make a really good point. I don't want to fight with Axl about what you and I are or are not doing when you stay the night." Sean said "Speaking of your brother, I need to text him the details for our date tonight."

When they got back to Sean's apartment, they sat down on the couch and realized that they only had about 45 minutes before they would need to take Sue back to her apartment to get ready for their evening with Axl and Lexie. Sean apologized " I didn't realize that we would be so rushed." Sue said "It's okay. I would rather have a little alone time than none at all." She wrapped her arms around Sean's neck and pulled him into a kiss. Sean leaned toward her and she laid back pulling him on top of her. They lost track of time and Sean's phone started ringing. He pulled away and grabbed his phone. He mouthed the words "We're late!" as he said "Hey, Ax man! We are on our way! We will just meet you there." Sue looked panicked. " Sean, there is no way I can go on a date looking like this!" Sean said " Honey, you look great. But if you need to freshen up, we can run by your apartment. However, what you're wearing is fine though." Sue calmed down. " If you think what I am wearing is fine then just let me go into the bathroom and fix my hair and makeup a little and put on a little lip gloss and we can go."

A few minutes later, they walked out the door. Sue realized she didn't know what they were doing. Sue asked " Okay, so what are we doing tonight?" Sean smiled and said " It's a surprise. But I think you will like it." A few minutes later, they pulled into a parking lot and saw Lexie and Axl waiting for them. They were standing in front of what looked like an art studio. Sean said " I wanted us to have a keepsake of tonight so I thought we could come to this art class where they teach us to paint and we can also have a glass of wine. Afterwards, we have dinner reservations." Sue got excited "Sean, you know me so well! This is wonderful!" Sean said " Suzy Q, all of our lives you have always been the creative one who sees the goodness in everything and made posters, scrapbooks, and such. I figured you needed to make a painting that we can call Sue and Sean's first date. Well, I'll be making one too but that's even better because we will have two." Sue exclaimed "Sean, I love you so much!" and she hugged him and kissed him. Axl said "Again? Come on guys! Let's go get started. I need some wine." Lexie pinched Axl and said "Stop complaining. It's cute that they are so in love. Don't you remember when we first started dating and we were like that?" Axl said " Why yes I do which is why it makes me sick to think of my sister and my best friend feeling like that about each other." Lexie said " Well, don't think about it. And every time they kiss each other just kiss me. That should take your mind off of them." Axl smiled and said " You are so smart. I love you more than you know." As he leaned in to kiss her.


End file.
